That's My Dad, That's My Son
by spiderwriters
Summary: The Sandman was the last person he though would be his dad. Spidey was the last person he thought would be his son. Previously written with Jess Maximoff, but this is a solo project now.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, it's been a while hasn't it. This was originally cowritten with Jess Maximoff but due to me not being the most reliable of cowriters, I thought it was best for me to do a reboot on my own. Well, here it goes.**

It had been a little over a week since the oil tanker exploded off of the shores of New York City. The explosion had caused Flint Marko, a.k.a. Sandman to be turned into glass. Sure the guy had been one of the city's worst supervillains, but in the final moments of his life, he had sacrificed it for the sake of those he had accidentally put in harm's way, and he had even saved the super hero's life as well. Needless to say, the turn of events had been an unexpected one and had left the red and blue clad hero with a lot on his mind. But right now, with the crime rate as low as it was right now, it gave the teenage hero plenty of time to think.

One of the things that repeatedly crossed Spider-Man's mind was whether or not Sandman had managed to survive the blast. He wondered that if there was enough of Sandman under the water, out of reach of the glass creating explosion that he could have gotten away. If he did survive, when would he show himself again?

It seemed as though the answer to the question that had been hanging most on the wall crawler's mind was finally answered. Spidey had perched himself on a rooftop of one of New York's buildings, taking a small breather after stopping a carjacking. He hadn't been on the building too long before there was the familiar tingling of his spider sense coming from the back of his neck. Spider-Man spun around and was met face to face with Sandman.

"I had a feeling that that explosion wouldn't be the end of you." Spidey said.

Sandman rubbed the back of his neck and snorted. "Let me tell ya, it wasn't a fun feeling having half of your body getting melted into glass in that explosion."

Spider-Man hesitated before speaking. "Yeah, I bet. You know if you hadn't of done what you had done, me and a lot of those men would have felt that explosion and not have lived."

There was a strange twist in his stomach. He'd never been saved by anyone else before. He was the one who did the saving. It was strange to think that despite their history, Sandman would save him from a horrible fate. It also made thanking him feel all the more strange and out of place. But Spider-Man felt that some form of a thank you was in order, after all, Sandman could have easily let him go up with the oil tanker as well.

"I wasn't no big deal." Sandman said, brushing off the attempted thanks. "It was all my fault anyhow. Besides, I just thought that you were one of those workers, so don't be getting any ideas of me getting soft and saving your webbed butt on purpose."

Spiderman nodded a faint smile on his lips beneath his mask. Of course, he should have known Flint better than that. At least he got the general idea of what he was trying to say.

"I would never dream of it. Besides, I figured it was a mistake, especially after all the times you and your buddies tried to kill me." Spidey joked.

Sandman slowly nodded. "Yeah, well, like I said, don't get no ideas that I've gone soft or nothing. That's the only reason why I'm here was to make that clear to ya. You understand? After this, things go back to the way they were."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Spidey said.

As if on cue, the familiar sounds of a jewelry store alarm started ringing. Spidey gave Sandman a salute, signaling the end of the temporary goodwill. The hero managed to catch a slight grin and nod from Sandman as he dove off the roof, ready to stop the attempted robbery.

* * *

Sandman shook his head after the young hero disappeared from his sight. That guy was never going to stop with the wise cracks. He must have driven his parents crazy when he was younger. Flint didn't know what he would have done if he had a smart mouth like that as a kid. He'd probably would have rolled his eyes so often that they would have been able to freely spin around on their own. It was then that Flint felt a twinge in his chest and stomach. He thought back to the memories of his son.

Flint had been one of those stupid high school football playing boys who had fallen for one of the cheerleaders at his school. The two of them were inseparable as they had been close friends since they were in fourth grade. Mary had been an amazingly smart girl and with her help, he had managed to pass science and math so he could play football. Too bad that one night one of their studying sessions had gotten a bit off topic.

Barely a month later they had learned of the consequences of their diverted study session. The two of them wished that it was a failed test, but it resulted in them going to become parents instead. They had both panicked, each not taking the news all that well. Flint supposed that Mary had taken it better of the two of them, seeing how in order to provide for a family that he was soon to care for, he took a high paying job opportunity with a high risk. That risky job got him five years in jail.

By the time he had gotten out Mary had already met and married another guy. After doing time in the slammer, the girl that he had known had changed. She became a different person. But becoming a mother would change any woman. Mary felt it best that with his recent track record it would be best for Flint not to be in their son's life. After all, what would the influence of having a father who would be constantly going in and out of a jail the way a cop went in and out of a doughnut shop do to the psyche of their son? Flint, unfortunately, agreed with Mary's decision and distanced him from his son and former girlfriend.

But that had been ten, eleven years ago. Perhaps after all of this time, it was time to check in on his son. After all a lot can happen during a decade.


	2. Chapter 2

Sandman made his way back towards the new base. After Spidey had taken out the Master Planner's layer, everyone had evacuated to a reserve safe house. The new building was hidden under an old abandoned warehouse on the other side of the city. It wasn't as technologically advanced as the underwater layer, but it was enough to house the sinister six and company.

Flint walked into the warehouse. He pressed passed the old rusted machinery and found a particular rusted control panel. Sandman flipped one of the side panels open and pushed a button. The grated floor slid open, revealing a ladder. Sandman slipped into a sandy form and landed at the bottom of the ladder and reformed into his normal shape. After waking down the series of access tunnels the familiar hand scanner came into sight. He placed his hand on the scanner, allowing the blue light to wash over his hand. There was a buzz and the metallic door in front of him slid open.

Rhino was sitting on a couch in the common room. He looked up from the television lethargically. He must have been expecting someone else, because as soon as it registered in his head, that Sandman was not the man he thought was going to come through the door, he sat up.

"Flint, I thought yous was dead." Rhino said.

Sandman snorted. "Thanks for your faith in me. But I'm alive and well. Hey, is the Doc here?"

Rhino gestured his head towards one of the doors on the back wall. "He's in his lab messing with stuff with the tinkerer or somethin. I don't know. Why?"

"I was wondering if he could help me find someone." Sandman said.

Rhino raised an eyebrow. "Who are you wanting him to find."

The two of them had gone way back. When he was in his early twenties and had just started working for the Big Man, Alex had been his partner in crime. Over the years they had found out quite a bit about each other. The fact that he had a son was no new news to Alex.

"My son." Flint confessed.

"Do you think that's a good idea after what happened last time you saw him?" Rhino asked.

Flint shrugged. "I dunno. He's older now. Maybe Mary will let me talk to him, at least once, just so he can say he's met me."

Alex gave him a skeptical look. He seemed to be mulling things over. Sure the rest of the villains thought that Alex was all muscle and no brain, but the big brute could be quite insightful when the time came. There had even been times where his quick thinking had kept them out of trouble when they had run into big pinches during a few of their jobs.

"Yeah, that might have worked before when we were just goons for the Big Man, but things changed when we became super villains. You had a hard time just with you just bumping into her before. I don't know how well it's going to go over if she knows that you're Sandman." Rhino pointed out.

With that said, Flint felt a twist in his stomach. Alex was right. There was no way Mary was going to let him see him now. But maybe if he found out where he lived, perhaps she would let him send a letter, use his real name to keep the fact that he was Sandman from his son. At least his son would know that his father was out there and did care, that he just kept his distance for his well being.

Flint nodded but said, "You're right. She won't let me meet him, but if she'd let me have a phone call or let me write him a letter, it would be enough."

Rhino shrugged. "Have it your way. Just don't be too disappointed if this whole thing doesn't work out the way you planned."

Sandman nodded. "Yeah, but it's worth a shot."

With that said, Sandman took a deep breath and headed into the lab. The door slid shut behind him and Otto glanced up in his direction. There was the feint hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

"Ah, Sandman. Good to see that the blast has not put an end to you. It would have put quite the damper on the plans that I had been working on." The doctor said.

Sandman nodded his head, "Yeah, I guess that would. But, ah, I have a favor to ask of ya."

Otto raised one of his eyebrows as one of his tentacles went to work tightening a screw on a nearby machine, and asked, his voice full of skepticism, "And what would that be?"

"You're still connected to the computer network in the city right?" Flint asked.

Otto's tentacles stopped their work for a brief moment. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Well after the accursed Spider-Man had ruined my grand layer, most of our servers were destroyed with it. We still have a few servers here, but I don't have the same amount of access as I did before. But what do you need me to do?" Doc Ock asked.

"I need you to find someone for me." Flint stated.

Otto's face twisted into an interested smile, "Oh, and who is that you want me to find?"


	3. Chapter 3

Spider-Man landed on the wall just outside of his bedroom. He peeked inside, making sure no one was inside and opened the window. Spidey winced as the window squeaked. The last thing he needed was to be caught sneaking in as Spider-Man. As quick as lightning, Spider-Man quickly changed from his black suit, back into his regular clothes, and not a moment too soon. It was then that his bedroom door opened.

A man with medium blond hair poked his head through the door. Dark circles surrounded his eyes as they glared at Peter. He was dressed in a white shirt and black slacks. A red and black tie hung loosely around his neck.

"Sneaking in again?" The man asked as he stepped into the room.

The man was Jackson Arvad, Peter's adoptive father. When his mother had died in a plane crash, he had been bounced around from foster home to foster home. But four years ago, when he landed in the scientist's home

With the flick of his wrist, the lights in his room came on, temporarily blinding the teenager. The man crossed his arms and looked him over, his blue eyes boring holes into him.

"Looks like you've gotten yourself into another one of those fights of yours." The man said, pointing to a bruise on his arm.

The bruise had been from the robbery from earlier. In the chaos of the robbery he had avoided the swing of a baseball bat to the head. But in subduing that robber and one of his pals, he had gotten kicked by one of them, which left the bruise on his arm. Peter had lied often about how he had gotten his injuries as Spider-Man, mostly by saying that he would get into fights after school. It was the best way to devoid suspicion.

"You know, if you keep up these bad habits, you're going to end up in jail like your good for nothing father." Jackson said.

Jackson never missed the opportunity to compare him to his father, William Baker. He had been a troubled teenager who had gotten in trouble for grand theft auto and assault on the man he had taken the car from. His father had been out of jail for years, but due to his record and apparent knack for winding back in jail, there had been no other option than foster care. Peter had wished that he could have stayed with his step-father's sister and husband, but he had been placed in the system and therefore placed in the home of Jackson Arvad and his cynical comments.

Sure Jackson wasn't the worst home he had ever been too, but it didn't mean that his psychological mind games and abuse didn't affect the young teen. Still, Jackson had adopted him, and he was his father after all, albeit only by legality's sake. Besides, he only had two years, and he could cut Jackson out of his life for good. At the very least, Jackson's long hours at the lab he worked at kept him away from home and with Peter fighting crime as Spider-Man, it meant that there was little time that the two of them shared anymore.

Jackson continued to glare at him. "At least you have your mother's brains. Perhaps you can make something of yourself if you use them. You're smart, smartest boy in your class, but you can be a real idiot when you put your brawn in the way of it. And so help me, if you ever end up-"

"-in jail, don't call you to bail me out. I know, I know. I got it the first time you told me." Peter finished the same speech he had heard time and time again.

Jackson smiled and nodded. "Good. Now get some sleep. I'm sure that you're going to need it for when you get into another one of your stupid fights tomorrow. You really should watch that temper of yours."

With that, the man left Peter alone with his thoughts, and the alien symbiote.

* * *

Flint felt like he was punched in the gut when he discovered that Mary had been killed in a plane crash. It felt like a rug had been ripped out from under him. But there was a small ray of hope. His son wasn't on the plane. In fact, he was living here, in New York. He didn't know how well he would be able to reach out to his son, seeing as he had been adopted by some random man, but at the very least he could write to his son.

"So, Marko, why the sudden change in heart?" Otto asked, his eyes scanning him from behind his goggles.

Sandman shrugged. "It's been too long since I last checked on him. Kept my distance for so many years because I thought that is was what was best for him."

"Are you sure this doesn't have to do with you saving Spider-Man from that oil tanker?" Doc Ock asked.

Sandman tightened up a bit. There was no way he was going to let these guys know he had actually saved the spider on purpose.

"No way. Besides, I was just trying to get those other guys off the boat. I didn't mean to grab the web head. Trust me, if I had been paying attention, I would have let the bug roast alive if I coulda." Flint lied.

Otto scanned him for a brief moment. Flint wondered if he had bought it. He hoped he had.

"All I need to know is that when we try to take out the little pest again, that you are not going to have another one of your change of hearts. So help me Marko, if you mess up my plan, I will end you." Otto growled.

Sandman nodded slowly. His heart pounded in his chest. Otto may have not been the most intimidating of people when it came to a physical fight, but he was a mad genius who could figure out a way that would make so he would no longer exist without a moment's hesitation.

"I understand. Don't worry about it. When the time comes, I'll help you take care of the bug." Flint said.

Otto nodded, that same grin working at the corner of his lips. "Good. Now, if that will be all, I'm quite busy."


	4. Chapter 4

It had been your average day for Peter, wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, stop an armed robbery, stop another robbery at the other end of town, catch a carjacker, save a kitten from a tree. It was just your average day, that is until he returned home.

Spidey landed in the back alley and quickly changed back into Peter Parker. Seeing as it was only eight in the evening, he didn't need to sneak in through his window. He walked into the front door and found his adoptive father in the living room. Jackson looked up from a book in his hand and gestured his head towards the kitchen in the back.

"Pizza's on the counter. You also got a letter today." Jackson said.

A letter, how odd. It wasn't often that he got letters. Most of the time it was flyers from colleges trying to convince him that he should go there two years from now. It only resulted in them going into the trash. He knew where he was going to be going to school, NYU. In fact Jackson said that he would pull a few strings to get him in there with a decent scholar ship if he made sure to keep his grades up and not get into detention or trouble with the law. As soon as one of those three criteria was breached though, he could kiss that scholarship goodbye.

"Really? Who's it from?" Peter asked as he grabbed a slice of pizza from the kitchen.

"Your father." Jackson answered.

Peter froze mid bite. That was the last thing that he had expected to hear. How did his father even know where he was?

"I must admit, to you Peter, you had gotten the letter a few days ago." Jackson said.

Peter quickly finished the slice of pizza and headed back into the living room.

"Then why wait to say anything at all?" Peter asked.

Jackson sighed. "As your adoptive father it was in your best interest that I read the letter before you, for your sake. I wasn't sure what he was going to say and I didn't want him to influence you at all. You are my son, and I do not want you associating with him while you are under my room. And then I read that he wanted to talk to you. He said he wanted to meet you at some coffee shop on 7th avenue today at eight thirty. I wasn't going to give you the letter until after the meeting, but since there's no way you can get there in fifteen minutes, I thought it was safe enough to let you know about the letter."

Jackson held the letter out for Peter to take. Peter grabbed it and looked it over. His father wanted to reach out to him. Sure he had gotten into trouble in the past, but this might be the only opportunity for him to meet him. There was no way he was going to pass this opportunity. With his web swinging he should easily make it there with a few minutes to spare.

Peter took off out the door and ran down the side walk. Jackson knew that he was going to try to meet his father no matter what. But since he figured the time frame was not going to work out, he didn't bother to stop him. Peter had a feeling he was going to rub in the "missed meeting" with his father in his face. But Peter would easily keep the fact that he was going to make it on time to himself.

As soon as he was out of sight, he took off down a few alley ways and changed into Spider-Man. He webbed into the city as fast as he could. His heart pounded with anxiety and anticipation. So many things ran through his head. Which questions would he ask first, what was his father going to say? How would they both react upon seeing each other.

Police sirens pulled Spidey from his thoughts. A pair of cop cars were driving through the city streets chasing after a bright green getaway car. Spider-Man snorted. They couldn't have gone for a more inconspicuous car, couldn't they? At least it made figuring out who they were chasing all the easier. Acting quickly, Spidey shot a series of webs at the intersection that the green sports car was headed to. The car tried to swerve, but it was too late. The car was stuck in the wall of webs. After making sure that the cops had the situation handled, he webbed off.

Spidey checked the time on his phone. He was ten minutes late. His heart pounded and ached. He still had a little ways to go, but the coffee shop should be coming into view. Spider-Man just hoped that his father hadn't given up hope on meeting him.

A wave of relief washed over him as the street for the coffee shop came into view. He just hoped he wasn't too late. Besides, it wouldn't be too hard to track him down if he had just left. He just needed to know what he looked like and the web swinging would take care of the rest.

Spider-Man webbed onto the building behind the coffee shop and dropped down into the alley. He started to look around to see if anyone was going to see him change when his spider sense went off. Spidey spun around and was met face to face with Sandman. Talk about your unexpected surprises.

"What are you doing here?" The two of them asked at the same time.

Both men seemed taken aback. Sandman's eyes narrowed as he stared at the black suited hero. Spidey crossed his arms skeptically as he stared back at the super villain.

"I don't have time to deal with you." Spidey said.

"Same here." Sandman quickly added.

Spider-Man jabbed his thumb at the nearby street. "Now get out of here."

Sandman now crossed his arms and scoffed. "No, you get out of here before I change my mind. I have business here."

Spider-Man hesitantly said, "I know that I'm going to regret this but, what are you doing here? You're not going to rob the place are you?"

Sandman looked taken aback. "No. I'm here to meet someone."

There was a twist in Spider-Man's stomach as a thought ran through him. No, no, no way was Flint Marko William Baker. There was just no way. There was no way Sandman was his father. But, on the other hand, they both had the same eyes and hair, Flint had been in and out of jail quite a bit, and he was about the right age. Even still, he had to be sure.

"Who are you here to meet?" Spider-Man asked, hoping for a different answer than what he expected.

"I'm meeting my son." Flint answered.

There it was, the answer Spider-Man had been hoping not to hear. No, it had to be a coincidence. I just had to be. Still, he couldn't help but opening his mouth.

"No way." Spider-Man blurted out.

Sandman resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet. Flint pulled out a small picture from his wallet and handed it to the young hero. The picture looked old and had seen it's fair share of wear and tear. Spider-Man's stomach twisted up in knots as he recognized the photo. It was a picture of him and his mother when he was four.

As he stared at the picture, the words fell out of his mouth. "Your real name isn't Flint Marko, is it?'

Sandman eyed him suspiciously as he answered. "No, it's not."

"It's William Baker isn't it." Spidey said.

Flint's eyes grew wide and he took a step back, unsure how the hero would know. Not many people knew of his old name.

"How did you know that?" Sandman asked.

It took a lot of effort to make sure his hands wouldn't shake, but he reached into his back pocket and pulled out the envelope and handed it and the picture back to Sandman, his father. Sandman's eyes grew wide once again as his face displayed a look of shock as he saw the envelope. It was then that Spider-Man peeled his mask back, revealing himself to his father.

"This wasn't how I expected this to go." Peter admitted.

"You're telling me." Flint said in utter disbelief.


	5. Chapter 5

**I am letting you guys know that this is being rewritten and will be under a new title. It will be called Parental Instincts and should be up any minute.**


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